I started swimming laps about nine years ago, when Brian and I signed up for our first sprint distance triathlon. The year prior, I'd taken an adult swim class with a friend who was trying to conquer her fear of the water, so I improved my technique a bit since my days of YMCA swim lessons. But I never thought about swimming for exercise until the triathlon. Then I thought of it in terms of a survival tactic, because as long as I didn't drown in the first leg of the race, I could live to do the bike and run portions.Now that I'm pregnant, however, I really enjoy being able to swim efficiently. And I have a feeling the bigger I get, the more I will appreciate the weightlessness I get to experience in the water, not to mention it's one form of exercise that doesn't cause me to sweat profusely. Even though by August I will probably look like a manatee in the park district pool, I hope to still swim.
This reminds me of my favorite comedian, Jim Gaffigan, and his jokes about the manatee. http://comedians.comedycentral.com/jim-gaffigan/videos/jim-gaffigan---manatees
